Page 34 - The Digital Cloth Issue 3

CatChing up with

Deborah Louie

My home is in the beautiful Also, I made a lifelong friend
riverside suburb of Oyster Bay from the first class too. Even
in Sydney. though Coral stitched by hand, I
We have been here for 5 years adapted her patterns to
and I grabbed the best room machine piecing and designed my
for my small studio. A sunny, own blocks and applique very
light-filled room - my happy quickly. I soon started to
place when I get a spare chance machine quilt as my hand
to sit and stitch. stitching was awful and found I
I teach all over Australia, New was pretty okay at it. Free
Zealand and soon motion quilting was very new and
internationally. I took to it straight away -
2019 will mark my 20th year as a loved it.
quilt tutor. This is amazing to I make quilts that are modern
me as I never thought teaching inspired home decorative art
was something, I would be doing quilts. Quilts people use to
for my longest career path. decorate their homes, over
Textiles are in my blood, as my lounges, wall pieces, bed ends
father’s family from three etc.
generations back were Textile I used to make very traditional
dyers. I used to earn my pocket quilts and that was to up-skill
money unwrapping cards of students as well as me and to get
guipure laces for Dad to dye teaching work. But now I make the
beautiful colours then roll work I want to have in my own
them back on the same cards a home and luckily other quilters
few nights later. All manual of love making them too.
course. Occasionally he would
let me keep a small amount of
the cotton lace for my own
sewing.
I learnt from my mother to make
my own clothes on her old
Singer sewing machine. This
became a passion and really has
led me to my quilt making.
When my first born son was 3
months old in 1990, I saw an
advertisement in the local paper
at a Patchwork tiny shop run by
the late Coral Garnsey at
Sutherland. This first class, I
knew I was meant to be a
quilter.